
The numbers themselves, when finally tallied by the diligent clerks of the SEC, were merely a footnote to the larger story. Twenty thousand shares, representing a fractional sliver – 0.31%, to be precise – of Mahan’s indirect holdings, moved from one account to another, like dust motes in a sunbeam. His remaining stake, a considerable 6,454,875 shares, remained, a silent testament to years of careful cultivation. The transaction, weighted at $40.49 per share, was not a frantic escape, but a pre-planned maneuver, orchestrated under the auspices of a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan – a legal labyrinth designed to shield the captain from accusations of insider trading, or perhaps simply to allow him a semblance of control over the inevitable tides.